Jurors in Alex Murdaugh trial speak out, say dog kennel video sealed his fate

Three jurors in Alex Murdaugh’s double murder trial spoke out Monday in a TV interview and said that the dog kennel video and the disgraced family patriarch’s own testimony were critical in their decision to convict him of fatally shooting his wife and son.

Amie Williams, Gwen Generette and James McDowell sat through a grueling six-week trial in Walterboro, South Carolina, and heard from 76 witnesses. The trio – along with nine other jurors – voted guilty on all counts Friday after less than three hours of deliberations.

On NBC’s “Today” show, Williams was asked what solidified the panel’s decision, which sent Murdaugh, 54, away for life.

“Well, the witness testimony, it was very believable, and the kennel video definitely played a major part and his testimony,” she said.

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Murdaugh gunned down his son, Paul, 22, and his wife, Maggie, 52, near the dog kennels of the family’s sprawling hunting estate in Islandton, South Carolina, known as Moselle, June 7, 2021.

The disbarred attorney from a once powerful legal dynasty in the Lowcountry repeatedly told investigators that he never went to the kennels the night of the murders.

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But Paul had recorded a cellphone video that captured Murdaugh and his wife’s voice in the background minutes before prosecutors say he shot them to death. 

Generette said she was stunned when Murdaugh decided to testify in his own defense and admit for the first time publicly that he was with the victims on the remote 1,700-acre property three minutes before their murders.

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“I couldn’t believe that he was taking the stand,” she said. “And the kennel video, that just kind of sealed the deal.”

All three of the jurors said it was a mistake for Murdaugh to testify. 

“He believes he’s so convincing, he felt like that was his last resort,” said McDowell, who was selected as a juror even though his brother, a Colleton County deputy, responded to the murder scene and was one of the trial’s first witnesses. 

He disclosed the connection to the court, but the defense and prosecution didn’t object to seating him.

Generette added that she didn’t believe that Murdaugh’s frequent fits of sniffling and sobbing were sincere. “I didn’t think he was crying, he turned it on and off. It wasn’t genuine,” she said.

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The trial featured weeks of evidence detailing Murdaugh’s theft of nearly $9 million from his law firm and his vulnerable clients to fuel a lavish lifestyle. 

Prosecutors argued that he killed his family to delay a financial reckoning that would have ruined his career and reputation.

“We could only consider it as part of the motive,” Williams said of the financial crimes evidence. “It helped show he was very convincing and manipulating, and it made sense.”

The TV journalists asked the jurors why Murdaugh did it.

“I don’t know if we will ever know,” Williams replied. “It may have been a combination of things, not just the financial, but everything was weighing heavy on him, I believe.” 

McDowell added that, as prosecutors said, there was an overall storm gathering around him and that clearly contributed. 

The jurors returned to the courtroom the day after reaching their verdict to watch Judge Clifton Newman mete out his punishment. Newman handed Murdaugh the maximum: two life sentences to be served consecutively. 

“It was important for us to go back and see it to the end,” McDowell said.